tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22685400.post4854117866028402645..comments2022-11-09T07:25:19.062-05:00Comments on Culture Vulture: Lost Horizon, by James Hiltonculture_vulturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14889586883861913766noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22685400.post-34971824053377170052009-03-24T17:26:00.000-04:002009-03-24T17:26:00.000-04:00It's funny, because I was just reading an essay wh...It's funny, because I was just reading an essay where the author made this nice point that a lot of utopian fiction basically relies on some newly imagined technology to revolutionize the world and institute universal bliss. Meanwhile, 200, 100, even 50 years later, the technology has far surpassed even the wildest imaginations of most authors, yet universal bliss is clearly lacking. Which is kind of fascinating.culture_vulturehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14889586883861913766noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22685400.post-28699872885237821112009-03-23T19:17:00.000-04:002009-03-23T19:17:00.000-04:00Well, it is called "credit card", but it is really...Well, it is called "credit card", but it is really just a way to access this year's salary for shopping. (Last year's is gone, whether or not you have used it up.)<BR/><BR/>A more interesting invention is cable ("telephone") radio, with all kinds of music available at your fingertips.<BR/><BR/>"It appears to me", the main character says, "that if we <I>[19th century people]</I> could have devised an arrangement for providing everybody with music in their homes, perfect in quality, unlimited in quantity, suited to every mood, and beginning and ceasing at will, we should have considered the limit of human felicity already attained, and ceased to strive for further improvements."<BR/><BR/>Ha!<BR/><BR/>mg*Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22685400.post-38394992852697454552009-03-23T11:57:00.000-04:002009-03-23T11:57:00.000-04:00Thanks! It's actually sitting on my shelf right no...Thanks! It's actually sitting on my shelf right now. <BR/>I seem to recall that it anticipates the invention of the credit card?culture_vulturehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14889586883861913766noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22685400.post-20732717865216405832009-03-20T19:18:00.000-04:002009-03-20T19:18:00.000-04:00You might find Edward Bellamy's book "Looking bac...You might find Edward Bellamy's book "Looking backward: 1887-2000" interesting (more for historical than for literary value), even though it is very didactic and moralistic (even preachy). Written in 1887, it was a best seller at the time. Available at http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/624<BR/><BR/>Martin G*Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22685400.post-89012120956428200972009-03-13T16:20:00.000-04:002009-03-13T16:20:00.000-04:00That is a great book. I took a utopian philosophy ...That is a great book. I took a utopian philosophy class at my first college (seriously...) and this was part of our coursework. I should try to find my copy and give it another pass.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com